cremation or burial?

[BC_MoM]

Everyone is different and what's "right" to one person may not be to another, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Exactly. And I didn't say everyone has to believe what I stated. lol I just didn't think I need to say "IMO". It's a little silly.

Well I think it's very personal to people. I wouldn't leave my family member at the hospital to be disposed of by the hospital staff, so I wouldn't leave my dog to be disposed of by the vet staff. They are all part of my family. I haven't decided what I would do yet but I certainly won't leave their bodies to be gotten rid of by someone else. I want to do it in a way that is comforting to me. They may be gone but that doesn't mean I would want their bodies disposed of like trash, anymore than I would a human family members. That's just me though.

I agree. But I was young at the time and was not as into dogs then as I am now. So, it's not my fault and I am allowing myself to use that excuse because it's the truth.

I don't know what I would do still.. I guess I would most likely bury in a pet cemetary.

[K9soul]

BCmom, you seem a bit defensive (or I could be misinterpreting). My intention wasn't to lecture or scold.. you asked what the point of cremation/burial/etc. is so I tried to explain how I see it, explain what the point to me is. There's nothing wrong with someone who doesn't wish to keep their pets' remains with them either, it's all individual. Just for me personally, it's important.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

I'm not sure what I will do. When my cat passed away last year, I buried her at my dad's house where she spent some of her time, since it is out in the country. She was buried on the same hill that our family dog was buried about 10 years ago.

You are not allowed to bury your pets in your yard in the city I live in, so I would probably need to cremate the pets if we still live here. Honestly though it's not that important to me because I feel they are gone, and my connection with them will just have to live in me. When Yogi (my cat) died, I was with her when she died and I knew she was no longer there, it was just her poor little body. We buried her right away, and I put together an album of her pictures. It's still hard to think about her being gone, and it's also very hard to think about my pets dying!

[Corinna]

We always buried on the farm , But I had Merlin creamated now awaiting the beautifull box Tim is making that I designed. They did a great paw print in clay.

[IRescue452]

I plan to get Autumn creamated and made into a lifegem

[Suki Wingy]

JUST my oppinion but... Actually, I see both a little pointless. When I think of cremating all I can think of if my pet being burned up and having to be turned over to burn the rest of the way. don't ask. I'd like to think of my pets as living with me, as a part of me and in the memories of the lives they touched. It kind of seems pointless to keep the burned up bits of their body. I heard that in one religion (forgot which) they leave thier bodies out for sacred jackals. That sounds like the most honorable way to go for ME. That way all my pets and the legacy they left will be "layed to rest" in an honorable way.

Actually.... niether.
I read somewhere that, for a substantial sum, you can have your dog or cat remains turned into a precious gem. It's similar to cremating and it is very expensive.

http://www.lifegem.com/secondary/whatisLG2006.aspx

I've actually seen that. I think they just speed up the process by thousands of years, and I think it involved compressing all of your molecules. I know that diamonds are exepionally hard.

jeez this is such a sad thread

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

OK Orangutango...

but you do/will have to do something. Cause when they die, unless you do something... they will just continue to hang around - in the same spot. The only resurrection I know of was Jesus Christ!!!

All of my past dogs were put to sleep and left with the vet, if one happened to pass before having to be PTS then I'd take it to the vet. I just wouldn't go any further than that as far as burrying and cremating goes. Not sure why, I guess it's because that's how my parents did/do it and it's what I'm used to.

[dab_20]

I have only went through having one of my very special dogs passing on. we buried her at my dad's house. I like to go to her grave and think about all the memories we had together. I don't think I would cremate any of my dogs, though.

[chrissycat21]

Right now all of my RB pets are buried under a tree in the back corner of our yard. I'm sure Snowy would attempt to dig some of them up, so we keep a cement block ontop of their graves until she loses interest.

When we had a squirrel die in our yard and my dad buried it, Snowy would not leave the grave alone. When I buried Taffy, Snowy just layed next to his grave, never trying to dig him up.

Right now my family and I live in a big house, so someday when my sisters and I move out, I'm not sure if my parents will be here forever. That is one thing that bothers me, if my parents move I wouldn't 'have' my RB pets with me anymore.

I still have many more years with Snowy, so I don't want to think about her spot under our tree just yet.

[Ginger's Mom]

As has been mentioned several times, this is a very personal decision. And one that is not taken lightly by most of us animal lovers. Peaches was very ill for a while before I had her put to sleep, and I had lots of time to think about it. I don't have a backyard so the only decision to be made was whether I wanted her ashes back or not. I decided that I did not want her ashes back. I have never regreted that decision. I thought it would be much to hard for me having my dead dogs ashes. I wanted to only to remember her as she was when she was alive and the very special bond that we had, and not be constantly reminded of her death. Prior to her being PTS the vet tech made a clay imprint of her paw, which was Peaches' last present to me. I will treasure it always; although, I have not done it yet, I plan to put it in a display case along with my favorite picture of her and perhaps a copy of The Rainbow Bridge.

[Alysser]

I would cremate her. I always thought that maybe I could throw Sassys ashes into the ocean. It sounds very peacful to me. I just don't know and I really hate to think about it.

[cyber-sibes]

We've done both. When Rosie was killed by a car, it was so unexpected, I didn't know then that you could have animals cremated. My husband took her body to the vets the next day, and when he came back home, he told me he was having her cremated as a present to me. I was very touched by his thoughtfulness, I had a terrible time accepting her death. It just tore me up. Having her ashes has been a comfort. We had a little ceremony and put some of her ashes in the ground when we planted a blue spruce in our yard, I like that. When my 18-yr.olf cat died last fall, we buried him under the pines where he loved to sit. I'm ok with that, too. He was small and burying him didn't seem like a big deal. We would have had quite a hole if we had buried Rosie, she was 70 lbs. I'd prefer to cremate my dogs when the time comes.

[pnance]

I've also done both. I had a rabbit when I was younger. We buried him under a rose bush in my moms backyard. We'd let him wander around the backyard during the day and he'd been digging in that spot for a couple of days and had a huge hole (my mom wasn't happy). As bad as this sounds I think he knew it was his time and was showing us where he wanted to be buried. Sandy my RB terrier I paid for a private cremation. His ashes were returned to me in a beautiful pine box and the vet also gave me a clay paw print she'd made. I don't regret either one. In the future, I'll probably get them cremated, I've worked at a vet before and will never get the picture of the dead dogs or cats laying in the loading dock area waiting to be picked up by the humane society for mass cremation, so I definately would either bury or privately cremate.

[K9karen]

Growing up, we always had parakeets, so all got their own little handmade wooden caskets, with all their toys. It was hard leaving them after we moved. I got a notorized certificate from my vet and the crematorium, that Cody had the seperate cremation I paid for. I've told all my relatives and friends were the ashes are and that I want to be buried with all my dogs' ashes. We didn't bury Cody because we have somany critters, I just didn't want him to be a main meal. (sorry). It is a sad subject, but part of the circle of life.

[.sarah]

We buried Retread the day he died, when I was 9 years old. I remember asking my mom about a week later, if we moved, would we be able to take him with us? When she said no I started crying. My mom told me a few years later that she didn't know cremation was available with pets. Needless to say, when Buttons died we had him cremated. He is in our cabinet where all our special things go, which we don't have much of. To me it's comforting that I always have him with me. I still have his collars and stuff like that, which are more important to me because I can still hold them, and until a few months ago they still smelled like him, but I guess his ashes provide a sense of closure.